Love is a Breeze
Third generation story written by MidnightCollies - Part Three of The Ballad of Love. Credit to Tundrathesnowpup for the title. Note: this is NOT a shipping story. Crash and Breeze are related and Crash is a lot older than Breeze anyways. This is a story about family love. * Crash * Breeze * Blitz * Camo * Ace * Lani * Clarity "Crash? Crash, what are you doing way out here?" The Rottweiler mix lifted his head to see his sister, Blitz, standing before him. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He sat up slouched, looking at her with a blank expression. "This is where I always come.. Why? What's up?" He asked in his groggy deep voice. "Why aren't you at the Lookout? Didn't you hear? Winters had puppies! Don't you wanna meet your new cousins?" She said, a small smile on her face. "Pfft." Crash said swishing his hair out of his face and lying down onto the grass again, turning away from his sister. "No one would want me there, what does it matter.." "Crash, you're still a part of our family, why can't you accept that? We never gave up on you.. You've just given up on yourself.. I'll be at the lookout with Soda, Camo and the others, feel free to join us." With that said, she turned and walked off, heading back to the lookout where the rest of the family were. Crash watched as until she was out of sight, then continued to gaze at the lookout. Everyone was no doubt gawking over his cousins new arrivals. "Hmph." He said to himself, before getting up and heading away from where he could see the lookout. Three weeks had passed since the birth of Ace and Winters pups. As Crash had found out from Blitz, they had had two lovely little girls, which they named Clarity and Breeze. Blitz loved the two of them to no extent and always bought them toys and spoilt them, Camo and Soda on the other hand enjoyed taking Clarity on adventures, which their parents were not too pleased about. Little Breeze didn't usually go adventuring, she preferred staying with Ace or Winter. Crash had finally decided to head down to the lookout for the first time since the two of them were born, not to see the pups of course, but to ask Blitz to fix his collar, which he had managed to outgrow yet again. He headed up the road, seeing countless pups and their parents or friends playing happily and running around the tower. A few of the newborns couldn't help but notice the large mix walking through with his head held low and the torn collar in his mouth. Crash looked at them with a slight glare, why did he always draw attention to himself.. From behind a few pups, a small, brown and white pup with bright blue eyes sat, her daddy lying beside her, talking to her auntie Lani. She tugged on his ear, earning his attention. "Daddy? who's that dog over there?" She asked curiously, pointing to Crash. Both Ace and Lani lifted their heads and caught sight of him. "That's your cousin dear, his name is Crash." Ace informed her. She looked at her aunt who wore a scowl on her face. "Crash isn't the nicest guy to be around, he's not like Blitz, Soda or Camo, he's a meanie, he always picked on me and your dad as pups." She told her niece. "Oh..." She said in a hushed voice. "But he's not being mean to anypup now, maybe he's different from when you were pups?" "I'm not sure dear, he's hardly ever around, he's always alone, he just kinda left one day and only comes back sometimes." Ace said. Breeze turned back to look at her mysterious cousin, who still seemed to be searching for some pup. "Daddy, can I go play with Clarity and the others?" She asked looking up at her father yet again. Ace smiled and nodded. "Sure thing kiddo, but try stay away from Crash." He told her, all she did was smile and nod, running off into the tower to find the other pups. ~������~ "Ugh.. Blitz where are you..?!" Crash continued to search the lookout for his sister, failing to find her, instead he found Camo, who was spending time with Clarity. He groaned in discontent and walked up to his brother, tapping him on the shoulder. Camo turned, smirking a bit when he seen Crash. "Well well, if it isn't the Lone Ranger, haven't seen you in a while Crash." He sat up, turning to his brother, little Clarity went quiet and looked at Crash with a confused expression. "Yeah, hello to you too, have you seen Blitz?" He asked him. "She's out in the town with a few of her friends, she left about an hour ago, she should be back soon, you should go wait inside for her." Camo replied. Crash sighed and nodded, turning and heading back over towards the lookout. Crash sat outside, waiting in the shade for his sister to come back. He sighed impatiently, frowning a bit. The shouting and laughing of the younger pups starting to bug him. "Man, am I glad I don't have runts of my own." He growled to himself, glaring at some of the pups. Snap! He turned his head and looked behind him, teeth bared and growling. What he saw surprised him, a small puppy, slightly alarmed and intimidated by the older dogs fierce expression. She had stepped on a twig, which was the snapping sound from a minute ago. Crash stopped growling and softened his gaze, looking at the pup a bit confused. The little pup lifted her paw off the twig, stepping back slightly, her tail between her legs and her ears folded back. The two of them stared at each other, both not knowing what to do. "Um...hi?" Crash finally managed to say, somewhat breaking the awkward silence between them. "Hello there... I'm Breeze," She said shyly. Wait.. Breeze? Immediately the name clicked in his head. "Are you... Ace's pup?" He asked her. She nodded, a small smile on her face and her ears perking up slightly. Crash let out a chuckle, "you better run along before your dad sees you with me, doubt he'll be too happy with me around his precious pup." Breeze's ears flattened again. "But.. Daddy says you're my cousin and that you're lonely.. I wanted to say hello to you and make you not lonely." She told him. Crash couldn't help but smile at bit at how innocent she was, she must've picked up whatever Ace had told her about him wrong. "Well, sorta.. But I'm sure your dad also said to stay away from me, yes?" Breeze shuffled her paws on the ground a bit. "W-well.. Yes, but I don't like seeing pups sad and alone.. So I want to make you less alone.. I want to spend time with you so that you have some pup to be with, then you won't be alone!" She said, walking up closer to him and sitting beside him. Crash looked at the pup unsurely, not knowing what to do or how to respond. She was too young to understand why Ace didn't want him around her, or why he was always alone. "Don't you have friends you'd rather play with?" He asked nervously. What was he supposed to do with this pup? For some reason he didn't want to hurt her feelings, she was too.. Too cute and innocent. "They're playing with each other! I want to stay with you!" She said, a smile growing on her face. "We can talk about lots of things, like when you and mommy and daddy were little!" Crash shook his head and sat up, "no no, we can't do that, really, you should go play with your cousin and friends or whatever." He said to her. Breeze's ears dropped. "D-don't you want me to spend time with you..?" She said giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen. Her eyes glistened with small tears, feeling slightly rejected by the older dog. Crash let out a sigh, lying back down again. "Alright, you can stay with me then.." He said with a small smile. Immediately Breezes face lit up again, she giggled with joy, getting up and walking over to Crash. She climbed in between his two front paws, cuddling into his fluffy chest. Crash tensed up a bit, not knowing what to do, no one had ever been this affectionate to him, not even his parents or grandparents would hug him and if they tried he wouldn't let them. Why couldn't he pull himself away from this pup? Breeze continued to snuggle into him, burying her face in his fur. Crash relaxed a bit, lifting one of his paws and wrapping it around the frail little puppy. "Y'know, you're a lot nicer than auntie Lani and daddy say you are." She said, looking up at him with bright eyes, still cuddling him tightly. Crash let out a low chuckle. "You're the first pup to ever call me nice, or hug me," he told her, cuddling her close. "Well I think you are nice! You're more like my unca than my cousin, you're my unca Crash!" She giggled. Crash felt his heart warm up, smiling like he never had before. He nuzzled Breeze, chuckling at her adorable comment. "Indeed I am, and you're my most favourite pup in the world." The two lay in the shade, talking quietly while Breeze continued to cuddle Crash, she told him all about her friends and cousins, and how Clarity always went on adventures with aunt Lani, she told him about how daddy Ace always told her stories about her great uncles, Fletcher and Maui, who were always duelling for Lani's spot as favourite uncle. Crash listened contently to everything the little pup told him, not noticing the time flying by. The sun was now setting and most of the pups had gone inside for bedtime. "Breeze?" Ace called quietly, searching around outside the tower for his daughter. "Honey? Are you out here? It's bedtime." The sound of laughing from the other side of the lookout caught his attention, he followed his ears, trying to find where the laughter was coming from. One of the pups laughing was definitely Breeze, but.. Who was the other pup? To Ace's complete surprise it was his cousin. He watched the two of them, playing together, Crash lying on his back giving breeze an aeroplane ride with his front paws. "This is your captain! We're coming in for a landing!" Crash chuckled. Breeze giggled more as Crash slowly lowered her small being onto his fluffy chest. The two lay there laughing, Breeze cuddling her unca once again. Ace cleared his throat, getting both Crash and Breeze's attention, the two of them stopped laughing immediately and looked at Ace with worried expressions. "Um.. What's going on here?" Ace asked, confusion clear in his tone. Crash lifted Breeze off him, gently placing her onto the ground, then got up himself, brushing off grass and dust from his fur. He averted his gaze from Ace's, looking out into the distance. Breeze looked at the ground, shuffling her paws again, she knew she was in trouble. Ace looked at Crash, his face a mixture of stunned emotions, "What.. were you doing with Breeze...?" "He was just playing with me daddy! He didn't hurt me, he wasn't mean to me! Honest! We were just playing and we were talking.. Unca Crash wouldn't hurt me, he's a good pup!" Breeze butted in, standing up for her uncle. "Breeze dear, I think mommy needs you inside, it's bedtime." He told his daughter. She nodded and got up, walking off with head hung low. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, bolting back to Crash and clutching onto his leg, hugging him tightly, small tears forming in her eyes. "Bye bye unca Crash..." She said sadly, looking at at him. Crash licked her head, then nuzzled her softly before she finally let go and went inside. Crash sighed and finally looked at Ace. "Look.. I didn't hurt her in anyway.. And I didn't corrupt her brain with any of my insults.. She wanted to keep me company.." He stated. "I.. I always knew you had good in you. That deep down, you were a good pup, I'm glad I never gave up on you." Ace said, smiling happily at his cousin. Crash's face lit up, with both confusion and just a hint of hope. "W-wait, y'mean.. Huh?! You don't mind me playing with Breeze?" "Of course not, I'm glad you love her like I do, you're welcome to come see her whenever you like, if it makes you both happy." Ace said placing a paw on his cousins shoulder. Crash smiled at his cousin, rubbing the back of his neck, chuckling anxiously. "That's uh.. Thank cous, it means a lot and.. I just wanna say, I'm sorry for the way I used to treat you as a pup.. I know I said some pretty bad stuff and I don't know why I did.. But I'm sorry, you're not a weak runt at all." He punched Ace playfully, Ace then returned the punch. "I better get going, I'll be around tomorrow to see my favourite pup!" Crash told him, getting to his feet and walking off. He didn't get very far before turning back around and heading into the tower. He chuckled, a bit embarrassed, "heh.. forgot to ask Blitz to fix my collar!" ~������~ Breeze awoke the next morning, yawning quietly and rubbing her eyes. All the playtime with unca Crash had tuckered her out so much she slept in. It was now midday almost. She stretched, getting up and heading outside, where an all too familiar pup stood waiting beside her father. She gasped, pure joy filling her tiny being. "UNCA CRASH!!!" She said racing up to him and pouncing at him, knocking him over onto the grass. "Woah, you're strong for a little squirt." He said, ruffling her fur. "Are you and daddy are friends now?!" She asked excitedly. "Of course we are dear, I love Crash just as much as you do, he is my annoying little cousin after all." Ace laughed, winking at Breeze. Breeze went over and hugged her dad, giving her unca a chance to get up. "You just make sure you tell him off if he starts being a meanie again!" He chuckled, cuddling her. "Unca Crash is a good pup daddy! He's not mean to me! Right unca Crash?" She looked to him, Crash nodded back at her. "Cmon kiddo, let's go to the park, your sister and cousins are already there!" She giggled and skipped over to Crash, who lifted her onto his back. The two then set off across the bridge. Ace smiled at his cousin and daughter. "I'm glad I never gave up on you." ~�� The End ��~ Category:Fanon Category:Fanon Stories Category:Short stories Category:Stories Category:Future gen Category:Third generation Category:Story Category:Future Generation Category:Fanon Pages Category:Shorts Category:Fanon shorts Category:Parts Category:The Ballad of Love short Category:Tundraverse Stories Category:Tundra's Fanon Category:Stories based around the Shepherd Family Category:MidnightCollies' Story